1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a chip resistor and a method of manufacturing a chip resistor.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 45A-46B illustrate a chip resistor manufacturing method as related art for better understanding of the present invention. FIG. 45A is a plan view illustrating a step of the manufacturing method, whereas FIG. 45B is a sectional view taken along lines 9α-9α in FIG. 45A.
In the illustrated method, an insulating substrate 91 is first prepared as seen from FIGS. 45A and 45B. Then, a surface electrode layer 94 made up of a plurality of rectangular portions is formed on the obverse surface 91a of the insulating substrate 91. Then, a resistor layer 92 made up of a plurality of rectangular portions is formed on the obverse surface 91a of the insulating substrate 91 to partially overlap the surface electrode layer 94. Then, a reverse surface electrode layer 94′ made up of a plurality of rectangular portions is formed on the reverse surface 91b of the insulating substrate 91, similarly to the surface electrode layer 94. Then, the insulating substrate 91 is bonded to a sheet member 961 via an adhesive layer 963.
As illustrated in FIG. 46A, the insulating substrate 91 bonded to the sheet member 961 is cut along lines Dx (see also FIG. 45A) to obtain a plurality of bar members 911 each in the form of a strip. As illustrated in FIG. 46B, the bar members 911 are then removed from the sheet member 961. Then, as illustrated in FIG. 46C, the bar members 911 are rearranged so that their side surfaces face upward. As indicated by the arrows in FIG. 46D, electrode layers 93 are collectively formed on the side surfaces of the bar members 911. Then, the bar members 911 are again bonded to a sheet member like the one illustrated in FIG. 45B. The bar members 911 are then cut in a direction perpendicular to the length of the bar members 911 into an appropriate size and then removed from the sheet member. Thus, chip resistors are obtained.
In recent years, chip resistors have been reduced in size. With the size reduction of chip resistors, the above-described bar members 911 need to become thin. To rearrange such thin bar members 911 into a proper position (see FIG. 46C) after the removal from the sheet member 961 requires a highly precise technique. If the rearrangement is not precise, electrode layers 93 cannot be formed precisely on the side surfaces of the bar members 911, which hinders yield enhancement.